The present invention relates to a water purification system and method, and more particularly, to such a system and method wherein polluted water is purified by the use of an ionizer and an ozonation treatment for the decomposition and oxidation of indecomposable contaminants.
Many water pollution problems are being caused by improper disposal of chemicals and/or chemical compounds into ground water reservoirs, streams, lakes and rivers. It is highly desirable that treatment of these polluted waters be accomplished without the addition of even more chemicals which may result in another form of pollutant or damage to the ecology.
Since any waste water treatment system that adds chemicals such is as chlorine, polyelectrolytes or other flocculates to kill organisms or remove metals and chemicals will necessarily require the production of such materials before use, it is ecologically desirable to provide a purification system which minimizes the requirement for any further manufacture of materials to be used in the treatment process.
Chlorine has been traditionally employed for disinfecting both water for domestic use and wastewater. However, chlorine has been shown to react with humic substances present in such waters to produce trilialomethanes (THM) such as chloroform, which are identified as carcinogens in animals.
Electrochemical methods are sometimes used to remove or decompose chemical impurities in water. Anodic oxidation may be used to destroy cyanide and phenols, ammonia, and organic dyes.
Although ozone has been used for treatment of drinking water as early as 1903, it has been under-utilized as many people have considered its use only as a disinfectant and have failed to utilize ozone for its highly reactive oxidation qualities. In other words, the traditional use of ozone has been to kill bacteria, rather than to aid in the decomposition and/or removal of contaminants.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a water purification system and method that uses an ionizer and an ozonation treatment which performs efficient ionization, decomposition or oxidation of undegradable contaminants such as most heavy metals and other inorganic materials, many organic materials including hydrocarbons, phenols, THM, cyanide, pesticides and others, without adding any chemicals.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an ionizer which is capable of inducing and accelerating exited electrons by a high frequency, high voltage power, thereby ionizing or decomposing undegradable materials in water.
A particularly advantageous feature of preferred embodiments of the present invention is that it can be applied to a variety of different types of water treatment, including, but not limited to, drinking water treatment or waste water treatment in domestic, industrial or stock raising applications.
To achieve these and other objects and features, as embodied and broadly described herein, the invention comprises:
at least one ionizer including:
a cylindrical chamber having an inlet and an outlet for water flow;
at least one rod anode which is surrounded with a coaxial cylindrical dielectric sheath;
at least one rod cathode which is surrounded with a coaxial cylindrical dielectric sheath;
at least one cylindrical mesh grid which is coaxial with and surrounds cathode;
an ozone generator for producing ozone, and
an ozone mixer for mixing the water with ozone provided by the ozone generator.
According to another aspect of the invention, a water purification method is disclosed, comprising the steps of:
(a) providing at least one ionizer adapted to create an electric field;
(b) energizing the ionizer with a high voltage, such that an electric field is created;
(c) passing the water through the ionizer so decomposition and oxidation of undegradable materials is performed;
(d) filtering sludge which is formed in the above step; and
(e) introducing ozone into and mixing it with the water.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, an ionizer used in the water purification system is provided, comprising:
a cylindrical chamber having an inlet and an outlet for water flow, the chamber made to permit the water to flow along a flow path from the inlet to the outlet,
at least one rod anode which is surrounded with a coaxial cylindrical dielectric sheath;
at least one rod cathode which is surrounded with a coaxial cylindrical dielectric sheath; and
at least one cylindrical mesh grid which is coaxial with and surrounds the cathode,
wherein both ends of the cylindrical chamber are hermetically capped by a mounting fixture formed to provide a waterproof fit.
Both the foregoing general description and the following Detailed Description are exemplary and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.